Several cities across the nation are embracing pre-arrest diversion to reduce mass incarceration. Pre-arrest diversion allows officers to divert a person into community services to receive treatment rather than arresting and jailing that person. Cities play an integral role in who enters local jails and are implementing programs and policies, such as pre-arrest diversion, that

This is a guest post by Cory Poris-Plasch, Vice President- Customer Success at POLCO Imagine a world where we could hear from not just the vocal few who seem to relish the opportunity to engage the city, but our average citizens, those who are busy with families and jobs but who don’t normally have the time

At NLC, we hear you loud and clear. For city leaders, using data matters more than ever. You could even say we have the data to back it up: According to this year’s State of the Cities report, a fast-growing set of city leaders are focusing on government data and technology in their state of

With the release of two new tools for cities this week, the National League of Cities Reengagement Network is adding to the universe of resources for implementing or adopting comprehensive strategies to reconnect opportunity youth to jobs, education and civic life. The annual Reengagement Census, updated with information from 20 sites for the 2016-17 school

Stable housing provides youth and young adults with a crucial foundation for developing into adulthood. Without stable housing, young people are much more likely to experience a host of negative and traumatic experiences, including arrest and detention in the justice system. City leaders, along with their partners in law enforcement and service providers in the

This is a guest post by Dr. Robert Garcia, mayor of Long Beach, California. Like many communities across the nation, our city of Long Beach, California, is constantly looking for new approaches to improve public safety and the well-being of residents. We have a lot to be proud of on this front. Our crime rate

In advance of our annual State of the Cities report, which will be released later this year, this blog series captures speeches given by mayors in 2017. This blog is part four of a four-part series focused on mayoral dialogues and sentiments around the fiscal responsibility of the city and the retirement needs of the

This is a guest post by Rebecca Wage, Customer Success Manager at Socrata. Context is key to accurately understand and leverage information. That’s why the team at the City of Williamsburg, Virginia, recently retooled the way they communicate and present their monthly operating reports. The goal? Improve transparency and engagement with their city council and residents.